Arabic music

History and character

Classical and popular Arab music of the Mashreq (Egypt, the Levant, Iraq) and the Maghreb is founded on the maqam (plural maqamat): a modal system that defines not just a scale but a melodic path (sayr), reference notes, typical phrases, possible modulations and an emotion. The scales use intervals not found in Western temperament, in particular the neutral second (about three quarters of a tone), which produces “neutral” thirds halfway between major and minor. The tradition is codified by medieval theory (al-Kindi, al-Farabi, Safi al-Din al-Urmawi) and was discussed in modern times at the Cairo Congress of Arab Music (1932), which proposed a theoretical scale of 24 quarter tones per octave (in practice the intervals vary by region and by maqam).

The classical ensemble is the takht (oud, qanun, nay, violin, riq and darbuka) accompanying the singer (mutrib); key concepts are tarab (the emotional ecstasy shared between singer and audience), taqsim (unmeasured instrumental improvisation), mawwal (vocal improvisation), and heterophony (everyone plays the same melody, ornamenting it differently). Twentieth-century Egypt is the golden age of cinema and radio: Umm Kulthum (live songs of 30–60 minutes, such as Enta Omri from 1964, composed by Mohammed Abdel Wahab), Mohammed Abdel Wahab, Farid al-Atrash, Abdel Halim Hafez, Sayed Darwish (turn of the century); in Lebanon Fairuz with the Rahbani brothers, Wadih El Safi, Sabah; in Syria Sabah Fakhri (the muwashshahat and qudud of Aleppo); in Iraq the Iraqi maqam (Nazem al-Ghazali, Munir Bashir on the oud).

From the '70s–'90s Arab pop (shababi) combines maqamat and iqa'at with electronic instruments: Amr Diab (Habibi Ya Nour El Ein, 1996), Hakim, Nancy Ajram, Elissa, Kadim Al Sahir, Wael Kfoury; Algerian raï (Cheb Khaled, Didi 1992; Cheb Mami), Moroccan and Algerian chaabi, Gulf khaleeji, Levantine electronic dabke (Omar Souleyman) and Egyptian mahraganat (street electronic music with Auto-Tune, 2010s). Arab music also influences flamenco, Greek and Turkish music, klezmer and the soundtracks of many films.

Scales and keys

Each maqam is built from ajnas (singular jins: fragments of 3, 4 or 5 notes) joined together; the joining note between the first and second jins is the ghammaz. Symbols: 𝄳 = half flat (about a quarter tone below the natural note). The Western chords indicated below are only approximations for arranging with tempered instruments (Roman numerals in minor are relative to the natural minor); in the tradition the melody sits over a drone or in heterophony.

Rast (the “mother” of the maqamat)

• On C: C D E𝄳 F G A B𝄳 C (often B♭ descending). Rast jins on C + Rast (or Nahawand) jins on G.
• Approximate intervals: T, 3/4, 3/4, T, T, 3/4, 3/4.
• Characteristic note: E𝄳 and B𝄳 (neutral third and seventh): a “suspended” major, noble and proud.
• Use: muwashshahat, solemn and festive songs; the opening maqam of many pieces.
• Common mistake: playing it like C major (you lose everything) or like C minor.

Bayati

• On D: D E𝄳 F G A B♭ C D. Bayati jins on D + Nahawand (or Rast) jins on G.
• Characteristic note: the neutral second E𝄳 above the tonic: tenderness, folk melancholy. The most common maqam in the Arab repertoire (Maqam World).
• Western approximation: D minor with a “flattened” second; chords i (Dm) iv (Gm) VII (C) VI (B♭).

Hijaz

• On D: D E♭ F# G A B♭ C D (or with B𝄳 in the upper part). Hijaz jins on D + Nahawand or Rast jins on G.
• Characteristic note: the augmented second E♭–F#: the “Oriental” sound par excellence to Western ears (equivalent to Phrygian dominant, the freygish of klezmer, the Turkish hicaz).
• Chords (approximation): I (D) bII (E♭) iv (Gm) vii (Cm).
• Use: religious calls, desert songs, a lot of Arab pop and dance music.

Saba

• On D: D E𝄳 F G♭ A B♭ C (D♭ in the octave). Saba jins on D (diminished fourth D–G♭).
• Characteristic note: the diminished fourth (G♭): pain, mourning, intense nostalgia.

Nahawand, Kurd, Ajam (the “temperable” maqamat)

• Nahawand on C: C D E♭ F G A♭ B (or B♭) C = harmonic/natural minor.
• Kurd on D: D E♭ F G A B♭ C D = Phrygian.
• Ajam on B♭: B♭ C D E♭ F G A B♭ = major.
• These three can be played on piano, guitar and synth without microtones: they are the basis of Arab pop with Western instruments.

Sikah and Huzam

• Sikah: tonic on E𝄳 (E𝄳 F G A B𝄳 C D E𝄳); Huzam: E𝄳 F G A♭ B C D E𝄳 (Hijaz jins on G). “Suspended” colors typical of Egypt.

Sayr and modulation

A maqam develops by starting from the lower jins, rising to the ghammaz and beyond, with temporary modulations to other ajnas and “sibling” maqamat (e.g. from Bayati to Saba, from Rast to Nahawand), and returning to the tonic. It is this path, not the scale alone, that defines the maqam.

How to choose

Rast for the solemn and the festive, Bayati for the folk and the tender, Hijaz for intensity and the sacred, Saba for mourning, Nahawand/Kurd/Ajam if you have to use tempered instruments. For quarter tones use instruments that allow them (oud, violin, nay, voice, qanun with the mandals) or pitch bend / microtuning (tuning scales for synths) with precision.

Harmony

Melody without functional harmony

• Traditional Arab music is monophonic and heterophonic: all the instruments play the same melody with personal variants and ornaments; there are no chords or harmonic cadences.
• The sense of “cadence” is melodic: a return to the tonic of the maqam through the lower jins, often with a descending formula from the ghammaz.
• Implied or explicit drone (in the oud and the qanun the repeated tonic, in the mawwal the “ison” of the orchestra or the harmonium).
• Rhythmic-melodic ostinatos (lazima: short instrumental replies between the singer's phrases).

Harmony in Arab pop

• With tempered instruments, mostly the temperable maqamat are harmonized (Nahawand, Kurd, Ajam, Hijaz): i–iv–V (Nahawand with major V), i–bII (Kurd/Hijaz), I–IV–V (Ajam).
• Tonic pedals and chords without a third (power chords, sus) so as not to clash with the neutral thirds of Rast, Bayati or Sikah.
• Strings (the Egyptian orchestral “firqa” from the '40s): unisons and octaves, not chords.
• In modern pop: loop progressions (i–VII–VI–VII), synth pads, piano, guitar, but the voice keeps its ornaments and microtones.

Harmonic rhythm

Nonexistent in the tradition; in slow pop (1 chord every 1–2 bars) or a fixed pedal.

Typical progressions

Rhythm and groove

Iqa'at (rhythmic cycles)

• Maqsum (4/4): D T . T D . T . — the most widespread (pop, dance, light classical). See the r-maqsum rhythm.
• Baladi (4/4): D D . T D . T . — heavier and more folk (two doums at the start).
• Sa'idi (4/4): D T . D D . T . — Upper Egypt, tied to the stick dance (tahtib).
• Wahda (slow 4/4): one doum and a few taks, for slow pieces and tarab.
• Malfuf (2/4): D . . T . . T . — fast, for dance entrances and transitions.
• Ayyub (2/4): D . . D T . — trance, zar, dabke.
• Sama'i thaqil (10/8): for the instrumental sama'i genre and the muwashshahat; dawr hindi (7/8), aqsaq (9/8), jurjina (10/16).
• Dabke (Levant): rhythms on maqsum/baladi or ayyub with the mijwiz, strong accents for the stomping steps.
• Feel: the subdivisions of the tak are filled with light “ka” strokes (the tak of the weak hand) and rolls; the groove is driving and flexible, with speeding up toward the end.

Drums

The Arab rhythm section

• Darbuka/tabla (goblet drum): doum (center, low, 80–200 Hz), tak (rim, high, 2–5 kHz), ka (tak of the weak hand), rolls, snaps, muted strokes (sak).
• Riq (tambourine with cymbals and a skin head): the head for the doum/tak, the cymbals for the subdivisions, rolls; in the takht the riq is the rhythmic “conductor”.
• Daf/bendir (frame drums), tabl (large two-headed drum played with sticks, for dabke and outdoor folk), naqqarat, hand claps.
• In pop: drum machines and electronic kits that reinforce the doum (kick) and tak (clap/rim), with real darbuka on top.

How the darbuka thinks

• The doum falls on the structural points of the cycle (1 and 3 in maqsum), the tak on the intermediate accents; the ka strokes fill the sixteenth notes at low velocity.
• The percussionist varies constantly (tak-ka-tak, rolls, finger strokes) while keeping the cycle recognizable.
• Verse: simple maqsum; chorus: baladi or a denser maqsum, riq and hand claps; dance sections: malfuf or sa'idi, fills and rolls; taqsim: percussion stopped or just a doum on the tonic.

Interaction

The doum locks in with the bass (or the low end of the qanun and the piano), the tak with the hand claps; in tarab the rhythm widens and tightens with the voice.

Typical mistakes by programmers

Darbuka patterns with identical velocity (the light ka is missing), doum and electronic kick not aligned, the wrong iqa' for the genre (maqsum everywhere), rigid quantization that kills the drive.

Bass

• Tradition: the low end comes from the doum of the darbuka, the low strings of the oud and the low register of the qanun; there is no independent bass line.
• Egyptian orchestra (from the '40s): double basses and cellos doubling the melody an octave lower or holding the tonic.
• Pop: electric bass or synth bass on the tonic and the fifth, following the doum (in maqsum: bass on 1 and 3, often with an upbeat note on the “2&”); 808 in modern pop and in mahraganat.
• Microtones: the bass avoids the neutral notes (it stays on the tonic, fourth, fifth) so as not to clash with the voice.

Harmonic instruments

• Oud: a fretless lute (11 strings in 5 courses + 1), various tunings; allows microtones; plectrum technique (risha), tremolo, taqsim.
• Qanun: a trapezoidal zither with 26 courses of three strings, played with plectra on the index fingers; mandals (urab) to change the pitch of each string by a few cents or quarter tones during performance.
• Nay: an oblique reed flute, breathy and warm sound, ornaments and glissandi; the protagonist of the taqsim.
• Arabic violin (often tuned G D G D or in standard tuning), viola and cello in the firqa; buzuq (long-necked lute of the Levant), mijwiz (the double clarinet of dabke), arghul, kawala.
• Keyboards from the '70s: organ and synth with “quarter-tone” capability (Arabic keyboards such as Yamaha PSR Oriental models with microtonal functions), accordion (Egypt, tuned for quarter tones), piano (rare, tempered).
• Voicing: unisons and octaves; no chords in the tradition.

Melody and vocals

• Voice at the center: ornate singing with melismas, tight vibrato, glissandi, precise microtones; powerful chest register in the tradition (Umm Kulthum, contralto); dialogue with the audience (applause and cries of “Allah!”, “ya salam!” at moments of tarab).
• Mawwal: free vocal improvisation on a text (often in dialect) before the measured piece; layali (vocalizations on “ya layl, ya 'ayn”).
• Melodic structure: phrases that rise gradually through the maqam (sayr), modulations to neighboring maqamat, repetitions with variation (the singer repeats the same phrase many times, changing it, at the audience's request).
• Lazima: a short instrumental response between vocal phrases (unison of strings, oud, qanun, nay).
• Choruses (bitana, female or mixed chorus) in unison or octaves in the refrains.
• Instrumental ornaments: tremolo of the oud and the qanun, trills, grace notes, glissandi of the nay and the violin.
• Pop: closer, more compressed voice, doubles, delay; Auto-Tune in mahraganat and in part of pop (as an effect).

Instruments

Oud, qanun, nay, violin, viola, cello, double bass, buzuq, saz, darbuka (tabla), riq, daf, bendir, tabl, naqqarat, mijwiz, arghul, kawala, rababa, Iraqi santur, accordion, keyboards with microtones, guitar (pop), electric bass, synth, drum machine; voice and chorus.

Drum patterns

Synths and sounds

• Prophet-5 V — Leads and pads with pitch bend: Monophonic lead with glide and bend to imitate the ornaments of the nay and the voice; quarter tones require precise pitch bend or external microtuning.
• Jup-8 V — Pads and brass of '80s–'90s Arab pop: Synthetic strings and brass for orchestral unisons in an electronic version.
• DX7 V — FM Oriental keyboards: Plucked timbres (synthetic qanun, santur), organs and FM basses; for quarter tones use pitch bend (±1 semitone range) or an external microtuning system, if your host supports it.
• Augmented Strings — Supporting firqa (string orchestra): Octave string unisons for the lazimas; the synthetic side should be kept to a minimum.
• Korg MS-20 V — Leads for mahraganat and electronics: Harsh, distorted leads for electronic pop and electronic dabke (Omar Souleyman style).

Song structure

Traditional forms

• Wasla: a suite of pieces in the same maqam (instrumental sama'i, taqsim, muwashshah, mawwal, qasida, dawr), like a concert.
• Sama'i and bashraf (instrumental): refrain (taslim) + four sections (khana) with the taslim between each; the fourth khana often in 6/8 or 3/4.
• Muwashshah: a strophic song of Andalusian origin with complex rhythms.
• Qasida: classical poetry sung, often with improvisation.
• Ughniya (long Egyptian song, Umm Kulthum): orchestral introduction (muqaddima) of several minutes, verses (maqta') with repetitions and variations requested by the audience, maqam modulations, returns of the refrain; 30–60 minutes live.

Arab pop

Length 3:30–5:00.

Mixing and mastering

Sonic goal

Voice and melody dominant with all the ornaments audible, the instruments of the heterophony distinguishable (oud, qanun, nay, violins), bright and incisive percussion (tak, riq), deep doum; concert-hall space (Egyptian orchestra) or closer and more powerful (pop). References: the recordings of Umm Kulthum and Abdel Wahab (the “hall” sound with orchestra), Fairuz/Rahbani (more Western productions), Amr Diab (shababi pop), Omar Souleyman (electronic dabke).

Voice

• EQ: high-pass 80–100 Hz; −2 dB at 250–400 Hz; presence +2 dB at 3–4 kHz; air +1/+2 dB at 10 kHz; light de-esser.
• Compression: opto 3:1 (3–5 dB) in the traditional style; FET + opto in pop (6–8 dB).
• Space: hall 1.8–2.5 s (hall) or plate 1.5 s + delay at 1/4 in pop; longer reverb on the mawwal.
• No tempered pitch correction on singing in Rast, Bayati, Saba, Sikah: a 12-note corrector would move the neutral notes to the wrong notes. If needed, only with custom microtonal scales or by hand.

Oud and qanun

• Oud: microphone at 20–30 cm from the rose or between the rose and the bridge; high-pass 70–80 Hz; −2/−3 dB at 200–300 Hz; +1/+2 dB at 3–5 kHz for the attack of the risha; compression 2–3:1.
• Qanun: stereo pair at 40–60 cm (wide instrument); high-pass 100 Hz; +1 dB at 6–8 kHz; wide stereo (L/R 40–60).

Nay, violin, strings

• Nay: microphone at 30–50 cm from the side (the breath is part of the sound); high-pass 150 Hz; long reverb.
• Violin/strings (firqa): high-pass 150–200 Hz, −2 dB at 2.5–4 kHz if harsh, wide unisons in stereo; hall 2 s.

Percussion

• Darbuka: a microphone on the doum (inside or near the lower opening, or in front of the head at 20 cm) and one on the tak at 30 cm; doum EQ +2/+3 dB at 80–120 Hz, −3 dB at 300–500 Hz, tak +2 dB at 3–6 kHz; compression 4:1, attack 5–15 ms; transient shaper for the taks.
• Riq: microphone at 30–40 cm, high-pass 200 Hz, −2 dB at 3–5 kHz if the cymbals sting, light stereo.
• Tabl (dabke): high-pass 40 Hz, very powerful: 4:1 compression and clipper.

Bass, kick, electronics (pop)

• Bass/808: center, sidechain from the kick or the doum (2–4 dB); complementary EQ with the doum.
• Electronic kick: reinforces the doum, doesn't replace it (align the transients).

Buses and groups

Voice, choir, melodic instruments (oud, qanun, nay, violins), strings, percussion, bass/electronics; shared hall reverb + vocal plate.

Master

• Traditional and orchestral: −16/−12 LUFS integrated, LRA 8–14 LU; pop: −9/−7 LUFS; true peak −1 dBTP.

Common mistakes

• 12-note pitch correction (it destroys the maqamat).
• Strings covering the voice in the lazimas: alternate the levels with automation.
• Darbuka with a bloated doum and a dull tak.
• Mixing tempered instruments (piano, synth) that play “wrong” notes against the neutral notes of the voice.

Reference tracks for mixing

• Umm Kulthum — Enta Omri (1964).
• Fairuz — Li Beirut (1987).
• Abdel Halim Hafez — Ahwak (1960s).
• Amr Diab — Habibi Ya Nour El Ein (1996).
• Omar Souleyman — Warni Warni (2013).

Reference listening

• Sayed Darwish — Zuruni Kull Sana Marra (anni '20)
• Umm Kulthum — Enta Omri (1964)
• Umm Kulthum — Alf Leila wa Leila (1969)
• Fairuz — Zahrat al-Mada'in (1967)
• Fairuz — Li Beirut (1987)
• Abdel Halim Hafez — Qariat al-Fingan (1976)
• Cheb Khaled — Didi (1992)
• Amr Diab — Habibi Ya Nour El Ein (1996)
• Nancy Ajram — Akhasmak Ah (2003)
• Omar Souleyman — Warni Warni (2013)